• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.529-535
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• 2016

Atopic dermatitis (AD) results from gene and environment interactions that lead to a range of immunological abnormalities and breakdown of the skin barrier. Protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) belongs to a family of G-protein coupled receptors and is expressed in suprabasal layers of the epidermis. PAR2 is activated by both trypsin and a specific agonist peptide, SLIGKV-$NH_2$ and is involved in both epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis and epithelial inflammation. In this study, we investigated the effect of lobaric acid on inflammation, keratinocyte differentiation, and recovery of the skin barrier in hairless mice. Lobaric acid blocked trypsin-induced and SLIGKV-$NH_2$-induced PAR2 activation resulting in decreased mobilization of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ in HaCaT keratinocytes. Lobaric acid reduced expression of interleukin-8 induced by SLIGKV-$NH_2$ and thymus and activation regulated chemokine (TARC) induced by tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-${\alpha}$) and IFN-${\gamma}$ in HaCaT keratinocytes. Lobaric acid also blocked SLIGKV-$NH_2$-induced activation of ERK, which is a downstream signal of PAR2 in normal human keratinocytes (NHEKs). Treatment with SLIGKV-$NH_2$ downregulated expression of involucrin, a differentiation marker protein in HaCaT keratinocytes, and upregulated expression of involucrin, transglutamase1 and filaggrin in NHEKs. However, lobaric acid antagonized the effect of SLIGKV-$NH_2$ in HaCaT keratinocytes and NHEKs. Topical application of lobaric acid accelerated barrier recovery kinetics in a SKH-1 hairless mouse model. These results suggested that lobaric acid is a PAR2 antagonist and could be a possible therapeutic agent for atopic dermatitis.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.389-400
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• 2013

Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) has been reported to exert anticancer, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, there has been no report on the effect of KRG on skin pigmentation. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of KRG on melanocyte proliferation. KRG extract (KRGE) at different concentrations had no effect on melanin synthesis in melan-A melanocytes. Saponin of KRG (SKRG) inhibited melanin content to 80% of the control at 100 ppm. Keratinocyte-derived factors induced by UV-irradiation were reported to stimulate melanogenesis, differentiation, proliferation, and dendrite formation. In this study, treatment of melan-A melanocytes with conditioned media from UV-irradiated SP-1 keratinocytes increased melanocyte proliferation. When UV-irradiated SP-1 keratinocytes were treated with KRGE or SKRG, the increase of melanocyte proliferation by the conditioned media was blocked. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was produced and released from UV-irradiated keratinocytes. This factor has been reported to be involved in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of epidermal melanocytes. In this study, GM-CSF was significantly increased in SP-1 keratinocytes by UVB irradiation ($30mJ/cm^2$), and the proliferation of melan-A melanocytes increased significantly by GM-CSF treatment. In addition, the proliferative effect of keratinocyte-conditioned media on melan-A melanocytes was blocked by anti-GM-CSF treatment. KRGE or SKRG treatment decreased the expression of GM-CSF in SP-1 keratinocytes induced by UVB irradiation. These results demonstrate that UV irradiation induced GM-CSF expression in keratinocytes and KRGE or SKRG inhibited its expression. Therefore, KRG could be a good candidate for regulating UV-induced melanocyte proliferation.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.169-175
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• 2017

In the northwestern Pacific region, the pen shell (Atrina pectinata) is a widely distributed bivalve and economically important in fisheries. Recently, stock of this species has been greatly reduced due to overexploitation and marine pollution, which arouses interest in conservation. Studies on genetic and taxonomic entities of pen shells have not been tried in Korea, which makes difficult to take measures for effective conservation of this marine resource. In this study, we investigated mitochondrial genetic polymorphism of pen shells collected from 4 locations in Korea and Japan using cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene sequences. A total of 39 haplotypes were identified among 86 individuals of pen shell. Although only 5 haplotypes were shared, no significant genetic differentiation was observed between Korean and Japanese populations. These results suggest that pen shell populations of these regions share an ancestral population which might have experienced expansion during the Pleistocene, but gene flow must have been highly restricted after expansion.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.27 no.2 s.89
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• pp.119-123
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• 1999

Genetic diversity of Korean isolates of Pseudomonas tolaasii and WLRO (White line reacting organism) was assessed using BOX-, REP-, and ERIC-PCR analysis. P. tolaasii showed nearly identical band patterns among isolates, whereas considerable DNA polymorphism was found among isolates of WLRO. On the basis of dendogram, WLRO is characterized as a complex group with high degree of genetic differentiation. Genetic relatedness based on repetitive DNA regions was low between P. tolaasii and WLRO isolates.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2005

Genetic diversity within and between populations of Antheraea mylitta Drury was studied using thirty individuals from three ecoraces using 12 ISSR and 10 RAPD primers. Rally, Daba and Modal ecoraces were collected from Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa states of India respectively. The ISSR and RAPD primers generated $94.7\%$ and $95.6\%$ polymorphism among the 30 individuals. The cluster analysis grouped these individuals according to their ecorace. The intra-ecoracial heterozygosity estimated with ISSR markers were $0.123{\pm}0.18,\;0.169{\pm}0.17\;and\;0.214{\pm}0.17$ respectively for Modal, Raily and Daba ecoraces. Like wise, with RAPD markers the intraecoracial heterozygosity was $0.17{\pm}0.22$ in Modal, $0.229{\pm}0.17$ in Raily and $0.23{\pm}0.19$ in Daba ecoraces. However, the significantly low genetic differentiation (GST) (0.182 for ISSR and 0.161 for RAPD) and the high gene flow (Nm) (2.249 for ISSR and 2.60 for RAPD markers) among the ecoraces revealed that the amount of genetic diversity present among the ecoraces is not significant enough to make drastic genetic drifts among these ecoraces in the near future.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.461-465
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• 2002

Nine microsatellite loci were analyzed in 84 random individuals to characterize the genetic variability of three domestic goat breeds found in Korea and China: Korean goat, Chinese goat and Saanen. Allele diversity, heterozygosity, polymorphism information content, F-statistics, indirect estimates of gene flow (Nm) and Nei's standard distances were calculated. Based on the expected mean heterozygosity, the lowest genetic diversity was exhibited in Korean goat ($H_E$=0.381), and the highest in Chinese goat ($H_E$=0.669). After corrections for multiple significance tests, deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were statistically significant over all populations and loci, reflecting the deficiencies of heterozygotes (global $F_{IS}$=0.053). Based on pairwise FST and Nm between different breeds, there was a great genetic differentiation between Korean goat and the other two breeds, indicating that these breeds have been genetically subdivided. Similarly, individual clustering based on the proportion of shared alleles showed that Korean goat individuals formed a single cluster separated from the other two goat breeds.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.117-123
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• 2001

A genetic analysis using starch gel electrophoresis was peformed to clarify the degrees of genetic differentiation among two species of the genus Koreanomelania and Koreoleptoxis (Gastropoda, Pleuroceridae). The average genetic similarity coefficients (S) among the populations of K. nodifila was S=0.848 (0.805-0.905) and K. globus ovalis was S : 0.755 (0.666-0.860). The genetic similarity coefficients between Semisulcospira gottschei and K. nodifila, S. gottschei and K. globus ovalis, and K. nodifila and K. giobus ovalis were 0.194, 0.301, and 0.301, respectively. So between K. nodifila and K. globus ovalis seems to be genetically two distinct taxa.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.498-505
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• 2012

This study uses the mitochondrial DNA control region to identify the genetic diversity and population structure of the marbled soles (Pleuronectes yokohamae) that inhabit Jinhae Bay and Yokji Island in the nearby sea and the adjacent waters of Namhae, Hansan Island, and Jaran Bay. Direct sequencing of the PCR products revealed 379 bp sequences with 83 variable nucleotide sites, defining a total of 91 haplotypes. The haplotype diversity was high, ranging from $0.917{\pm}0.031$ to $0.983{\pm}0.008$, and nucleotide diversity ranged from $0.015{\pm}0.008$ to $0.024{\pm}0.012$. In addition, 48 haplotypes (52.7%) were unique. Pairwise $F_{ST}$ values were very low, with the maximum value occurring between PYH (Hansan Island) and PJI (Jinhae Bay) ($F_{ST}$ = 0.011). Therefore, no significant genetic differentiation was evident between any pair of sampling localities.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.530-539
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• 2007

Genetic variation and structure of 9 subpopulations of Symplocarpus renifolius Schott ex Tzvelev on Mt. Cheonma, in Korea, were determined via starch-gel electrophoresis. The genetic diversity at 10 loci for 8 isozymes ($P_{99}=66%,\;A=2.26,\;H_o=0.212,\;H_e=0.230$) was found to be considerably higher than that seen in other long-lived perennial plants. On the whole, the genotype frequencies were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Approximately 5%($\theta=0.049$) of the total variability was among subpopulations. The high levels of observed genetic diversity in S. renifolius were attributed to a universal outcrossing system and other specific factors like differences in age classes and widely scattered individuals around the main distribution. Heterozygosity was highest at a mid-range of elevation($450m{\sim}600m$). The lowest heterozygosity at lower elevation was attributed to the possible origin of seeds transported by water from upstream regions during the monsoon season. Spatial structure in a subpopulation evidenced a strong autocorrelation between closer individuals within $3{\sim}4m$ of distance. This was assumed to be attributable to the restricted seed dispersal characteristics of S. renifolius. In accordance with the findings generated in this study, some implications regarding the conservation of S. renifolius at the Mt. Cheonma were also presented.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.512-520
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• 2021

In this study, we report genetic characterization of Orobanche cumana, the causal agent of sunflower wilting in Serbia. The genetic diversity of this parasitic plant in Serbia was not studied before. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers and partial rbcL gene sequences analysis were used to characterize the O. cumana populations at the molecular level. While phylogenetic analyses of RAPD-PCR amplicons were performed using unweighted pair-group Method analyses, rbcL gene sequences were analyzed using neigbor joining method and minimum spanning tree. Molecular analyses of RAPD-PCR analysis revealed high genetic diversity of O. cumana populations which indicated high adaptive potential of this parasitic weed in Serbia. Further analyses of rbcL gene using minimum spanning tree revealed clear differences among diverse sections of Orobanche genus. Although this molecular marker lacked the resolution to display intrapopulation diversity it could be a useful tool for understanding the evolution of this parasitic plant. Our results suggested that O. cumana has great genetic potential which can lead to differentiation of more virulent races which is important for determining crop breeding strategies for their control.